The present invention relates to a spinning reel for fishing.
The spinning reel comprises a reel body with a leg portion (rod attachment portion) for attachment to a fishing rod, a rotor so supported at a front portion of the reel body as to be rotatable in interlock with a winding rotary operation of a handle, and a spool which is moved back and forth by the winding rotary operation of the handle. A pair of support arms are attached to the rotor. Bail support members for supporting a bail are supported on distal end portions of the respective support arms so as to be rotatable between a line release position and a line wind-up position. A line guide, which rotates around the spool in accordance with the rotation of the rotor caused by the winding rotary operation of the handle, is provided on one of the bail support members. With this structure, if the handle is rotated, the line is uniformly wound around the spool, which moves back and forth, via the line guide rotating along with the rotor.
The spinning reel, as described above, is constructed such that the line guide supported on the rotor rotates around the spool moving back and forth, thereby winding the line around the spool. Accordingly, in general, the spool is constructed such that the diameter is relatively small. In addition, since the spinning reel is constructed such that the line can be easily released by raising the bail and disengaging the line from the line guide, it can be easily used at the fishing spot.
In the conventional spinning reel, however, the diameter of the spool is relatively small and thus the following problems will arise: the amount of line capable of being wound around the spool is small; when the line is being wound or released, curling or twisting of line will easily occur; and the efficiency of winding is low. Moreover, in the case where the diameter of the spool is small, the fisherman who wishes to use a spinning reel with a large line winding capacity has to choose a large-sized spinning reel from among models of several superior ranks. More specifically, with the structure of the conventional spinning reel, when a line winding capacity of a certain degree is needed, one has to use a spinning reel having a greater size than necessary, which is inferior in portability and operability.
The spinning reel is constructed such that such members as a spool, a rotor and a reel body are axially arranged in tandem. Consequently, the axial dimension of the reel tends to increase. As a result, the balance of the structure of the entire body is not good, and the operability and portability deteriorate.
Furthermore, in the conventional spinning reel, the size of the spool is relatively small, compared to the reel body. Thus, the distance between the leg of the reel body and the front flange portion of the spool is long. Consequently, in the conventional spinning reel, it is difficult to apply resistance directly to the line released from the spool by the finger of the hand holding the reel as well as the fishing rod, or to perform a fingering operation at the time of releasing the line, such as checking of the rotation of the spool. Thus, the operability is low.
As has been described above, the conventional spinning reel is so constructed as to merely achieve the basic functions of line winding/releasing. No devices have been made for improvements in various functions, such as improvement in balance of the entire body, and improvement in line winding/releasing functions.